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Brighter Futures Annual Report 2023-24

Brighter Futures Report 2023-24

The Brighter Futures in Banbury programme

Cherwell Local Strategic Partnership

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A message from Councillor Pattenden

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the 2023–2024 Annual Report on the Brighter Futures partnership. The partnership has been developing since it began over 12 years ago. It has an impressive range of member organisations who all share the ambition to break cycles of deprivation in the areas of Banbury with greatest health and income inequalities.

This sounds like a fine ambition – but what does it mean in reality? This report will show you, with real examples of the work which the partnership members do with the community on a variety of different levels. These stories illustrate how the partnership takes on challenges ranging from interventions when residents are in times of crisis through to strategies devised to have long term effects on the quality of people’s lives.

There are many challenges to people’s well-being currently. We are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, which we see reflected in young children’s development and lack of school readiness. Older children are experiencing a range of mental health difficulties on a scale which has not been seen previously. There are also many issues affecting the mental health of adults, and you will be able to read about some of the ways in which the Brighter Futures community is working to support residents in the report.

Families and other residents continue to struggle with the cost of living, although the pace of inflation has decreased, the cumulative effect of increases in prices is still hitting residents hard. Food price inflation affects those on a low budget hardest, as they have the least “wriggle room” in their finances.

The Brighter Futures Partnership does not have a magic wand to solve all these issues. What is does have is a fantastic forum for organisations to share knowledge and expertise. It provides a wealth of trust between community, grassroots organisations and strategic and statutory bodies which is not frequently found, and which enables information to pass from the community to the decision makers. This means that the community is a part of the solution to the issues that face them.

The partnership also fulfils an important function – that of supporting the organisations who do such a fantastic job supporting the community. 

I hope you will enjoy reading the report, the stories in it are only a fraction of the amazing work carried out within the community. You are very welcome to contact the Brighter Futures partnership for more information, and we are always open to suggestions for new members who share our values.

Background 

Decorative

Introduction

The Brighter Futures in Banbury Partnership has worked together to improve lives in Banbury for several years. It brings together partners from a wide range of disciplines; health, education, business, voluntary,community and faith groups, all coming together to find ways to promote the health and wellbeing of residents in the 3 wards of Banbury with greatest levels of deprivation.

The Partnership’s aim is to improve life chances and break the cycle of deprivation through improving health (and its broader determinants) and increasing opportunities for residents in other spheres of their lives. Using an asset based approach to our work[1] means that we look for the strengths and capacity in the community, rather than focussing on what is wrong.

The breadth of experience and expertise within the partnership enables it to look at the full spectrum of activities which this work involves, which can be summarised as strategy, partnership and grassroots activity. In the Brighter Futures Partnership, these do not exist in isolation, but in a cycle where learning is passed between the three areas of work. In this report, we will show examples from each of these areas to illustrate how each contributes to the effective working of the partnership, and how closely they are interlinked.

We encourage our partners to develop and deliver services in a way which makes communities feel part of the process of developing and delivering services, recognising the inherent challenges of such an approach but believieng when done well the benefits have greater reach and impact.

Partners see that demand for interventions is  increasing in both volume and complexity, at a time when they are receiving reduced funding. Working in partnership, with shared objectives, provides  support for organisations and the individuals working in them. The longevity of the partnership means that trust has developed between the partner organisations leaving them well placed to create joint projects and to make combined bids for funding.

Brighter Futures in Banbury - Our themes

  • Stronger Communities and Volunteering
  • Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing
  • Safer Communities
  • Housing
  • Employment, Education and Skills

Members of the partnership bring expertise from a variety of fields. The work of the partnership is co-ordinated according to the themes shown in the image above. The partnership does not allow the themes to act as a constraint, but rather seeks for projects and initiatives where partners can work across the themes. Having these themes brings focus and balance to the work the partnership are undertaking.

Where do we work

We work in the Lower Super Output Areas in Banbury,  The three wards are:

  • Banbury Ruscote
  • Banbury Neithrop
  • Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown

Strategy

The partnership includes partners who are working at a high strategic level, sometimes participating in national or county wide initiatives. This enriches the partnership through a greater understanding of national policy  issues, as well as being a major factor in bringing funding into the area. The examples of strategic work we will look at in this report are

  • Obtaining UKSPF levelling up funding
  • Developing ward profiles for each of the wards, in consultation with residents
  • Better Lives through Culture
  • Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership and Safer Streets project.

Partnership

The long standing nature of the partnership has allowed high levels of trust to develop between the members. This helps through information sharing, joint project working and an understanding of how the agendas of different organisations overlap. There are many examples of this working in the Brighter Futures area, but in this report we will focus on:

  • Events held to support and inform partner organisations about the response to the cost of living crisis
  • Coordinating information sharing neighbourhood networks in Grimsbury and North Banbury

The partnership is co-ordinated by a steering group with representatives from:

  • Cherwell District Council (including Safer Communities, Wellbeing, Housing, Economic Development, Performance and Insight)
  • Department for Work and Pensions
  • Sanctuary Housing
  • The Sunshine Centre
  • Citizens Advice
  • Oxfordshire County Council (including Social Care, Public Health)
  • Thames Valley Police

The influence and reach of this partnership stretches out to other professionals, organisations and community groups.  

Grassroots

One of the strengths of the partnership is the commitment of a number of community based organisations. Often working on tight budgets and with very little time to spare, representatives from these groups make the effort to contribute to the partnership. Their knowledge of people in the community is what makes the Brighter Futures partnership a listening partnership – genuinely in touch with local people and their dreams and fears. In this report, this side of the partnership is demonstrated by:

  • Activity programme at the Hill
  • Bridge Street community garden project with Sunrise Multicultural Project food project
  • Sunshine Centre programme
  • Tailored consultation developed for Safer Streets
  • Ward profiling consultation

Our partners

This list is not exhaustive. If you would like more information, or would like to become a partner, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Activate Learning
  • Active Oxfordshire
  • Age Friendly Banbury
  • Age UK
  • Aquarius
  • Aspire Oxford
  • Banbury and District Chamber of Commerce
  • Banbury Aspirations
  • Banbury Community Action Group
  • Banbury Community Church
  • Banbury Community Safety Partnership
  • Banbury Community Support Services
  • Banbury Food Bank
  • Banbury Healthy Cooking Skills
  • Banbury Larder
  • Banbury Madni Mosque
  • Banbury Town Council
  • Bridge Street Community Garden
  • BYCE
  • BYHP
  • Carers Oxfordshire
  • Cherwell Collective
  • Citizens Advice
  • Community Albums
  • Community Catalysts
  • Community Dental Services
  • Community First Oxfordshire – Well Together 
  • Dementia Oxfordshire
  • Diabetes UK
  • East Street Children’s Centre
  • Get Fed
  • Good Food Oxfordshire
  • GP practices
  • Grimsbury Community Centre
  • Grimsbury Community Network
  • Healthwatch Oxfordshire
  • HENRY
  • Home-Start
  • Homes and Communities Agency
  • Job Centre Plus
  • Legacy Leisure
  • Lighthouse Parish
  • Living Streets
  • Midwives
  • Muddy Feet
  • National Careers Service
  • NHS cancer screening and health checks
  • North Banbury Network
  • North Oxfordshire Schools Sports Partnership
  • OCVA
  • Oxford United in the Community
  • Oxfordshire Advice Project
  • Oxfordshire County Council
  • Oxfordshire LEP
  • Oxfordshire Libraries
  • Oxfordshire Mind
  • Oxfordshire Play Association
  • Oxfordshire Smoke Free Life
  • Oxfordshire Youth
  • OxLEP (Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership)
  • People’s Theatre Collective
  • Restore
  • RVS
  • Safeguarding Children In Banbury
  • Sanctuary Housing
  • Science Oxford
  • Secondary and Primary Schools
  • SOFEA
  • Solutions for Health
  • Stop for Life Oxfordshire
  • Sunrise Multicultural Project
  • Talking Space
  • Thames Valley Police
  • The Hill Youth and Community Centre
  • The Mill Arts Centre
  • The Sunshine Centre
  • The Warriner Farm
  • Turning Point
  • Volunteer Connect

A guide to Who's who 

  • Councillor Rob Pattenden, Cherwell District Council. Lead Member for Brighter Futures
  • Nicola Riley, Cherwell District Council, Assistant Director: Wellbeing and Housing Services
  • Jon Wild, Cherwell District Council, Community Development Lead
  • Steven Newman, Cherwell District Council, Employment, Education and Skills Theme Lead
  • Asma Marshan, Department for Work and Pensions, Employment, Educations and Skills Theme Lead
  • Paul France, Cherwell District Council, Housing Theme Lead
  • Lynne Roberts, Sanctuary Housing Group, Housing Theme Lead
  • Tom Gubbins, Cherwell District Council, Physical Activity, Health and Well-being Theme Lead
  • Kate Austin, Oxfordshire County Council, Physical Activity, Health and Well-being Theme Lead
  • Katey Humphris, Cherwell District Council, Safer Communities Theme Lead
  • Sharon Graham, Citizens Advice, Stronger Communities and Volunteering Theme Lead
  • Bee Myson, Age Friendly Banbury, Stronger Communities and Volunteering Theme Lead
  • Sharon Ellis, The Sunshine Centre, Start Well Theme Lead
  • Kate Winstanley, Independent, Facilitation and strategic support

Contact Brighter Futures in Banbury programme